The puck has finally dropped

Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal - Scott Cunningham, Getty Images

The National Hockey League dropped the puck on its 95th season with games played in Boston, Toronto, and Vancouver on Thursday night which the league's Dave Lozo blogged live.

Get in the game

As the players hit the ice, the rosters of Fantasy Hockey managers everywhere were activated.

True veterans of this unique and engaging way to follow the sport and the league had their rosters ready and updated while rookies to the league still have a lot to learn - i.e. activate players who are scheduled to play on a given night because that will be helpful in accumulating points.

Not mentioning names here.

Friday night spotlight

Friday night brings another set of league games to kick off the season for teams and their fans including the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.

Caniacs have been anticipating the season's start as much as the team has and have provided supportive  turnouts at Prospect Camp and throughout sessions of the team's recent training camp, including the annual Red-White Scrimmage. 

The Hurricanes face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the RBC Center on Friday with the intention of redeeming themselves against the Eastern Conference foe that denied them a playoff spot last April and to get a positive start to the 2011-2012 season in front of their fans.

X's & O's

The new feature titled X's & O's will continue on Friday night as the team's plays will be posted via Twitter and drawn up to help fans understand what the team's new game plan is intended to do.

Follow on Twitter @pksport to get picture posts of play set-ups used in games on the #CanesWhiteboard throughout the season. 

Sample of #CanesWhiteboard showing snapshots of the Hurricanes power play set-up from the Sept. 30 preseason game vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (5 images in sequence):

#1 - Puck starts low

#2 - Cycle to side wing

#3 - Move puck to point as D shifts over

#4 - D returns pass to wing in high slot for shot

#5 - Three options for shots/passes from top wing, center D, or opposite D

Recent Raleigh Sports Examiner news:

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Playing to a crowd of just over 8,000 fans at the RBC Center on Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes showed glimpses of where they have been, where they are, and where they want to go with a 3-2 loss...

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